External Pratical Training (EPT)

DESCRIPTION: The External Pratical Training (EPT) is mandatory in the Veterinary Medicine Teaching Course. EPT activities are planned to start from the 2nd semester of the 5th year, when students are supposed to have a good overall theorical and practical background. The EPT is divided into two parts: one exclusively performed extra-mural the NA VEE (80% of the ECTS, at external public or private institutions) and the other intra-mural (20% of the ECTS, supervised by academic staff). The EPT lasts 750 h (23 weeks), and is worth 30 ECTS. It can also be carried out at foreign public and private universities, as part of the Erasmus traineeship programme, or in other National universities. Requirements for admission to EPT are to achieve the competencies and pass the preparatory exams.

During EPT, students are trained in 4 different veterinary expertise areas as follows:
 - FSQ (9 ECTS)
 - VPH (4 ECTS)
 - Production animals (6 ECTS)
 - Companion and Food Producing Animals Clinics (11 ECTS).

The academic staff-to-student ratio is 1:1 for the clinical training, while for the others areas it is maximum 1:8. All extramural tutors are appointed upon an official agreement and specific teacher training.
During their EPT in FSQ and VPH students are directly supervised by Official Veterinarians for a total of 6 weeks (staff-to-students ratio of 1:3). Constant and direct supervision of Official Veterinarians gives them the opportunity to better investigate and deepen issues relating to these expertise areas. For FSQ, they spend 3 weeks at the ASL, 1 week at the slaughterhouses, and 1 week at the fish market, cheese factory and Border control Posts. For VPH, students spend 1 week between the Experimental Centre for Avian and Rabbit (CSA), Wildlife Rescue Centre (CRAS) and the Regional Centre for Monitoring Parasitic Diseases (CREMOPAR).
The food producing animals EPT is scheduledas follows: 2 weeks in the field under the supervision of a practitioner specialized in cattle and buffalo medicine and surgery. Two further weeks during which students are housed in farms: one for cows (Compostella) and one for Mediterranean Buffalo (Improsta). One week divided among to swine, poultry, and beekeeping medicine (approximately 2 working days/species due to the small number of these animals within the Campania Region and the strict local public health restrictions).
The companion animals EPT is subdivided in 3 weeks in a private practice for dogs, cats, and exotic pets. One week in the field uner the supervision of a specialized equine medicine and surgery practitioner and 1 week at Punto VerdeEquine Hospital. The programme gives students the possibility to constantly engage in daily veterinary practice to better strengthen their skills. As mentioned above, part of the EPT is also intramurally performed. In detail, students commonly spend:

1. 3 weeks with including day-time and night-time shifts at the HVTH, as well as;
2. 1 week at Diagnostic Service of Pathology and Animal Health of the HVTH;
3. 1 week among different NA VEE laboratories including geographic information system, biotechnology, genetics, aquaculture,
4. 1 week at the laboratory animal facility of CEINGE-Advanced biotechnologies centre of UniNA under the guidance of a non-academic veterinarian specialized in laboratory animals.

Finally, 1 week is allocated to animal assisted therapies at the Alzheimer centre (close to the FVTH).
Durgin the clinical procedures performed on food producing and companion animals, pre-clinical activities are performed together with the clinical ones for a total amount of 2 and 1 weeks, respectively.

Students can access the EPT in two annual timeframes:
      - I: February-September
      - II: September - February

To access the EPT the students must achieve a minimum number of exams. 

*Animal assisted therapies, Laboratory animal facility, Beekeeping.

RULES FOR ADMISSION: In order to be eligible for the EPT, certain exams must be successfully completed as a prerequisite (see Attachment C for academic regulations within the Degree Programme). Such exams are:
1. Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases (II year)
2. Veterinary pathology, semeiotics and medical diagnostics (III year)
3. Veterinary pathology, surgical semeiotics, radiology (III year)
4. Industries and inspection of foods of animal origin (IV year)
5. Special Zootechnics, morpho-functional evaluation and animal welfare (IV year)
6. Bacterial Diseases, Preventive Medicine and Avian Pathology (IV year)

Between 10 October and 10 November, students who are willing to apply for the EPT must fill in an application form that can be downloaded from the Na VEE Website, in which the preliminary exams that have been successfully completed as a prerequisite must be indicated. Only students who will have passed the 6 preliminary exams by mid-January will be accepted into the EPT.
For students who are regularly enrolled in a Degree Programme under the old system (Master’s Degree Programme DM 270 cod. N73; Specialist Degree Programme cod. 550, and/or all students enrolled before the academic year 2011/2012), access to the EPT is contingent upon successful completion of 20 exams by mid-January.
An alternative period for the EPT is scheduled between September and March only and exclusively for students enrolled in a Degree Programme under the new system (i.e. starting from the year 2010/2011) who have successfully completed 27 exams by 31 July, and/or students enrolled in a Degree Programme under the old system (i.e. until the year 2010/2011) who have successfully completed 28 exams by 31 July.

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE EPT:

APPLY FOR AN INTERNSHIP:

Please note that applications for the 2025-2026 academic year (January-October 2026) internship must be submitted from November 7 to November 29, 2025, by completing the forms available at the links below:

Veterinary Medicine Internship Application Form - New System:

2025-2026 Veterinary Medicine Internship Application Form - New System - Complete the Form

Veterinary Medicine Internship Application Form - Old System:

Veterinary Medicine Internship Application Form - 5th Year - Old System - Complete the Form

EXTERNAL PRATICAL TRAINING (EPT) REGULATIONS FOR STUDENTS OF THE VETERINARY MEDICINE DEGREE PROGRAMME

Attachment 1